Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs VNQ: how they differ
QUAL and VNQ hold 2% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and VNQ hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QUAL | VNQ |
|---|---|---|
| PROLOGIS, INC. | 0.57% | 7.02% |
| SIMON PROPERTY GROUP, INC. | 0.36% | 3.54% |
| PUBLIC STORAGE. | 0.25% | 2.54% |
| CBRE GROUP, INC. | 0.19% | 2.26% |
| VICI PROPERTIES INC. | 0.14% | 1.58% |
| AVALONBAY COMMUNITIES, INC. | 0.12% | 1.38% |
| EQUITY RESIDENTIAL | 0.11% | 1.26% |
| COSTAR GROUP, INC. | 0.07% | 0.78% |
| Only in QUAL | Only in VNQ |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% | Vanguard Real Estate II Index Fund 14.67% |
| APPLE INC. 6.28% | Welltower Inc 7.86% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05% | Equinix Inc 5.66% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% | American Tower Corp 4.55% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23% | Digital Realty Trust Inc 3.67% |
| THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19% | Realty Income Corp 3.12% |
| VISA INC. 3.09% | Ventas Inc 2.20% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92% | Crown Castle Inc 2.06% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026.
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | VNQ Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | US real estate |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +5.6% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | −11.9 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.13% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 63.3% |
| Holdings | 121 | 146 |
QUAL in plain words
QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
VNQ in plain words
VNQ is an index equity fund tracking the US real estate. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +5.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.13% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 63% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 146 positions, with the top ten at 54.9%. It sat 6.1% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or VNQ?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VNQ returned +5.6%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or VNQ?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VNQ charges 0.13%, so VNQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and VNQ overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 63% of VNQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 2% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
Other comparisons
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QUAL against VNQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-VNQ Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources